Choosing a scale
Pick a scale that suits your workspace and eyesight before anything else. 1:72 and 1:144 reward patience and fine motor control; 1:35 and larger are more forgiving while you build basic skills.
Operative Field Guide
Twenty steps of training every new operative completes before handling a recovered artefact.
Workflow Overview
Training Manual — 20 Steps, 8 Phases
OPERATIVE NOTE: read every step before touching an artefact.
This guide is issued to every new operative before their first bench session. It has nothing to do with dimensional theory — it is the same practical modelling training any hobbyist would receive, because a recovered artefact still has to be handled, repaired and replicated by hand. The twenty steps below are grouped into eight training phases, filed in the order an operative works through them on the bench.
Phase One — Plan
Steps 1 to 2. Choosing a scale and a first kit before anything is cut.
Selecting a first kit
Choose a simple, well-reviewed kit with a reputation for good part fit. Save highly detailed multimedia kits — resin, photo-etch, wiring — for once basic assembly and painting are comfortable.
Phase Two — Prepare
Steps 3 to 5. Tools, instructions, and getting parts ready for the knife.
Essential tools
A cutting mat, sprue cutters, a hobby knife with spare blades, fine sandpaper or sanding sticks, and tweezers cover almost everything a first build needs.
Read the instructions first
Read the whole instruction sheet before cutting a single part from the sprue. Sub-assemblies that need painting before final assembly are easy to miss if you only read one step ahead.
Washing parts before assembly
Wash sprues in lukewarm water with a little mild dish detergent, then let them dry fully. This removes the mould-release residue that would otherwise stop paint and primer from keying to the surface.
Phase Three — Build
Steps 6 to 9. Fitting, cutting, joining and filling seams.
Dry fitting
Test-fit parts without glue before committing to an assembly order. A part that doesn't sit flush now will not sit flush after the glue has set.
Safe use of hobby knives
Always cut away from your body and keep fingers clear of the blade's path. Replace dull blades promptly — a dull blade needs more force and is the one that slips.
Gluing and assembly
Match the glue to the material — styrene cement for polystyrene, cyanoacrylate for resin or metal — and build in small sub-assemblies rather than the whole model at once. Work with a window open or a fan running; adhesive fumes build up quickly in a closed room.
Filling seams
Apply seam filler sparingly and sand back in progressively finer grits. A thin second pass corrects more cleanly than one thick first pass.
Phase Four — Paint
Steps 10 to 12. Priming, laying down colour, and doing it safely.
Priming
Prime in thin, even coats in a well-ventilated area. Primer reveals seams and surface flaws a bare kit hides, so treat this as your last chance to fix them cheaply.
Brush painting and airbrushing
Thin paint appropriately for the method you're using, and build colour in several thin coats rather than one thick one. If you're new to an airbrush, practise on scrap plastic before touching the model.
Ventilation and paint safety
Solvent-based paints and primers need real airflow, not just an open door — a spray booth with extraction, or painting outdoors, is safer than a closed hobby room. Follow the manufacturer's safety data sheet for the product you're using, and don't assume a mild smell means the fumes are harmless. A respirator rated for organic vapours is recommended whenever you're spraying solvent-based products for any length of time.
Operative's own note: learned this one the hard way in a closed garage. Open the door first.
Phase Five — Decal
Steps 13 to 16. Gloss, application, and avoiding silvering.
Gloss preparation before decals
Apply a gloss varnish and let it cure fully before decals go on. A flat or satin surface traps air under a decal and causes visible silvering once it dries.
Applying waterslide decals
Soak each decal exactly as long as the manufacturer specifies, then slide it onto a wet surface so it can still be repositioned before the water evaporates.
Avoiding decal silvering
Once positioned, gently push trapped air and water out from under the decal with a soft brush or a cotton swab, working from the centre outward. Avoid piercing the decal film unless it's genuinely necessary — an unnecessary puncture is often what silvers.
Using decal-setting solutions carefully
Apply setting solution exactly as the label describes — too much can dissolve fine decal detail rather than settle it. Work in a ventilated space and avoid contact with skin or eyes, as with any hobby chemical.
Phase Six — Finish
Steps 17 to 18. Weathering and the final protective coat.
Weathering
Pin washes settle into recessed detail, dry-brushing highlights raised edges, and pigment powders can suggest dust or rust. Apply weathering in thin, testable stages rather than all at once.
Final clear coats
A final matte, satin or gloss clear coat protects the paint and decals and unifies the finish. Apply it in thin coats in the same ventilated conditions as any other spray step.
Phase Seven — Safety
Step 19. Storing what's left over once the bench session ends.
Safe storage of tools and chemicals
Keep solvents and paints in their original, labelled containers, away from heat and out of reach of children or pets. Cap blades or keep them in a case between uses, and dispose of solvent-soaked rags according to your local waste guidance rather than a household bin — they can be a fire risk while still damp.
Operative's own note: a damp rag in a closed bin is how the old storeroom nearly went up. Loose lid, always.
Phase Eight — Document
Step 20. Filing the finished build against the archive.
Recording a completed build
Photograph the finished model in good, even light, and keep a short
builder's log of the kit, scale and paints used. Operatives filing a
build against a recovered artefact should reference its archive code
— for example MFN-035-004 — in that log.